Noah's Pudding
(Aşure)
1 cup barley (preferably whole grain barley) or wheat
1 cup canned white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup sugar
1 pkg vanilla or 1 tsp vanilla extract
4 + 6 cups water
10 dry apricots, soaked in water overnight, cut in pieces
10 dried figs, cut in pieces
1/2 cup raisins
Garnish:
1/4 cup walnuts, crumbled
Place 4 cups of water in a large pot along with the barley. Bring to boil at high heat. Then as soon as it boils, turn it down to medium-low heat and cook for about half an hour. Add the beans, chickpeas, vanilla, apricots, raisins, figs, sugar and 6 cups of hot water. Cook for about 45 minutes at medium-low heat. Stir occasionally. Pour into a large service bowl and let cool.
Keep Noah's Pudding refrigerated. When serving, garnish with crumbled walnuts.
This recipe is one of the oldest and best known desserts of Turkish Cuisine. Its original name is "Aşure". When we cook Aşure, it is traditional to give some away to friends and family.
5000 years ago in Mesopotamia, Noah was King of the city Shuruppak. His was a trade empire, and he built a large trading ship. At that time, there was a raging flood and rainstorm. He and his family loaded animals, grain, fruit and beer on board. The rain continued for 40 days. Afterwards there was no land in sight for 7 days. They ran out of drinking water and since the sea was salty, they had to resort to drinking beer. They eventually landed on Mount Ararat.
The old saying goes that Noah's food was about to run out. He mixed and cooked all that he had left. The result became known as "Noah's Pudding". Turkish people love Aşure and there is even an Aşure Month.
Labels: Dessert
32 Comments:
How many servings does this recipe make?
There may be 6 - 10 servings depending on the size of the bowls:)
thank you for writing about asure, but maybe you could also mention "asure gunu" from which the name of the pudding comes from.
kusura bakmayin,
nessim
this is very delicious. My Turkish boyfriend just made a giant batch of it. Do you know if it's possible to freeze it? we have so much and I don't want it to go to waste.
Hi Bridget,
I've never freeze it before. But, I think you can:)
Thank you for your easy and delicious recepies it brought up lots of nice memories from my trip last year. However, it would be right to set the record straight about prophet Noah's story and the flood. Thank you very much for your magnificent work
Don't you add rice with this recipe as well?
No, there is no rice in it. Just barley.
Hi Binnur. Your recipes are excellent. I have tried many of them and I've been very successful in my family and with my friends. Thank you very much for posting them.Now I'm going to try this recipe but I'm not very sure about the water used in it, 4 cups at the beginning, and later on 6 other cups, isnt this too much?
Hi Antea,
No, it is not:) The barley absorbs too much water.
ashure means 10. ashure is the tenth day of the first month of the year, the month of muharrem. Ashure, the tenth day of muharrem, is honored because Muslims follow the practice of the Prophet Mohammed. The islamic calendar is lunar so it is ten days shorter than the standard year. Ashure changes every year, because the New Year is determined by seeing the new moon. Ashure is eaten during the first ten days of the new year.
Hi Binnur,
I just discovered your web site and am so excited, wonderful (and doable) recipes!
I kind of remember from childhood that asure has rose water? If so, how much would you add? Thanks so much, icten selamlar.
Sedef
Hi Sedef,
It depends how you like it. So you can add 1 tsp or 1 tbsp rosewater in it. It is totally up to you:)
Personally, I like Asure without rosewater:)
Hello. First of all I would like to thank you so much for this recipe. I was wondering should it be thick while its cooking?; or does it get thick once its cooling? If you could please answer me back right away that would be great seeing as I am cooking it right now and it isnt thick so im not sure if I should turn the heat off now and let it cool or if I should add something to make it thick. Thank you.
HI,
It should be a little bit thick while it is cooking. But when it is cool down it would be thicker.
I love barley! I must try this, but maybe firstly with chickpeas and beans as a savory dish? Im afraid it could be too much of ingredients for me for the first time :)
Hello, There is probably no one recipie for asure.I heard that some families use wheat or rice with fruits and nuts. It's good since I like dishes in which different varieties are welcomed.
Hi,
It depends on what you cook with them:) The story tells all about it;
"Noah mixed and cooked all that he had left".
You can divide the ingredients in 2to 4 to have less of it:)
Binnur, Oh my Gosh, This was my favourite pudding when I was in Istanbul living and thought I'd never get to taste it again. I followed the recipe to the letter and (I DID IT) Love the recipe. Obviously too much so like Istanbul dropped some off for friends and neighbours.
The Turkish guys who are very picky about food though I'd bought it in a restaurant. Love the site.
Dear Bert,
You brought a big smile to my face! Thanks!
Is it possible to omit the beans and chickpeas? Neither me, nor my Turkish husband like those, but I am afraid to spoil the pudding if they are essential :)
Btw: it's a wonderful website. Since I found it by accident I have tried a few recipes and all of them worked ;) I can't wait to serve traditional Turkish food to my in-laws when they visit us.... ;)
Hi Krotka,
Thank you:) “Asure” is a long known dessert the ingredients of which have always been the same as mentioned in the a/m history. The beans and chickpeas are considered main ingredients and the taste could be adversely affected:)
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, I adore asure! I'd like to ask you something. If the chickpeas and white kidney beans are not canned (we buy them in dry packages), should they be boiled first and for how long? Thank you!
Hi Ninevi,
Thank you:)Dried kidney beans and chickpeas should be soaked overnight and boiled until they are a bit softer (easy to bite) and drained. I can't give you the exact time for this because it depends on the variety of beans. Some cook for a shorter period of time, some don't:)
Take care,
Binnur, I tired to send you this comment before but I am not sure it reached you as it seems I hit a wrong button
Can you PLEASE post a pic (large scale) of barley for your international fans, since in different countries the product is called differently, just to make sure we buy the right staff.
also I have seen some people soak barley overnight, what would you say to that
Thanks in advance
Hi,
You can use pearl barley or wheat what ever you have in your area:) I remember my mother or my granny used to soak them into the water for a night. But I don't do that because they cook for a less amount of time compare to old times:)
Is barley the same as wheat? My husband says it is arpa.
Yes, it is arpa. When I was living in my country I always used bugday (wheat) to cook ‘asure’. But my friend suggested that I use barley instead of wheat in here. So I really liked it....
You can use either one of them:)
Hi Binnur,
I made this today for my dad and it tastes great, I followed the recipe exactly but once it cooled it became quite thick to a point where most of the water is gone is that how it is supposed to be
Many thanks
Ilktac
Hi Ilktac,
It seems that the dry ingredients especially wheat or barley soaked all the water. Next time you can slowly add more hot water while stirring and even after you turned the heat off:)
Take care,
are there any other traditions for this day? What would be a good hostess gift?
Hi,
Flowers or a box of chocolates would be good gifts:)
Post a Comment
<< Home